Montblanc

"Nothing compares to the sensation of traditional fine Swiss watchmaking, but in a fast moving world being able to access all kinds of information digitally has become essential." Jerome Lambert, CEO of Montblanc International Montblanc has just presented...  

Really miss your sense of humour my dear Nico !

But to choose MB within Richemont was a good choice: a not too traditional manufacturer but still upmarket enough to ask for 900 Eu and make 900 Eu look as a bargain for a MB watch.

It\'s not a watch, it\'s a product... I am as interested in this product as a new i phone or a new leather backpack... moderately if not at all... As a collector , I prefer my fav brands to remain watch manufacturer, but that\'s a different discussion alt... 

In that Montblanc was a writing instrument and leather goods manufacturer long before they added watches to the portfolio, so the fact that they continue offering products beyond mechanical watches is a natural consequence of their history and heritage. T... 

.....i can just hear you say this...LoL

And some are essentially for "free", like very hard to get pieces. The watch world is full with bargains! That is my view, my friend !

... a bargain is when one pays for a watch what one considers a good price. I find this novelty interesting in term of strategy, but is is not as if Patek or JLC were producing a smart watch. Also, it is not at all for me! Best, É

Thanks for your views, Eklektik! It\'s about different segments of the market

I am just wondering what people who bought their mechanical watches will think and if they will stay faithful to the brand. It seems a bit like going left and right, past and future at the same time. All the best, É

It is a difficult balancing act but still a smidgeon easier for them than pretty much any other brand from Richemont...

so what do you Montblanc 1858 Tachymeter owners make of this? Best, Magnus ...  

Is this the "quartz" era all over again? Shivering.

Sure, there is a part of the market where smart watches are likely to supplant mechanical ones but I do not foresee this being equivalent to the quartz crisis.

I'll admit my first reaction, seeing the blue 1858 Tachy dial, was along the lines of "WTF". But, I'm open-minded and we'll see how it grows on me. M4

From May onwards one should be able to try it on / take it home

Thanks for adding the picture, Magnus!

I fear it will age... OLED is not as loong lasting as traditional LCDs - one reason why Apple did not adopt it yet (except for the Apple Watch, where its power efficiency made this move necessary). Best, Magnus

Best wishes Alkiro

Best wishes Alkiro

Best wishes Alkiro

Not a good MB day here.

I mean if you are willing to do a straight swap, I will try to organise one of the very first Montblanc Summits for it I know, I should not joke at this moment...

Alas, I have plenty of warranty on the watch, and trust MB can straighten it out.

Do keep us posted, though!

I had been planning on my next Montblanc purchase. Now, I will first see how this repair process goes. I expect it to go well, and things can return to normal. But if not, well, then other options exist.

But two brand new watches which never worked - that makes one upset. However, I have just now my RO QP on my wrist and it feels great. I really understand why I bought this watch on the first place. If my 15202 will feel as good and also function like a w... 

I feel sorry for you because I know how such a disappointment feels. Best, Kari

I will not exaggerate - so far this is just a failure of one watch, one time. I trust Montblanc will fix it correctly for me.

Honestly I don't like this smartwatch hype at all Cheers D

I hear you but then again it is not a substitute, more a complement...

I can see a market for smart watches, agreed, but leave that to the Apple's and Samsungs and maybe okay for a Tag Heuer, but why do we need a Montblanc smart watch that mimics a mechanical icon? What is next? A Patek smart watch that looks like a 5370? I ... 

But I do suppose that each watch consortium is trying smartwatches out in order not to 'get left behind'. There were possibly other options in the Richemont portfolio but the management probably felt that Montblanc was the best choice. I hear you in terms... 

But to have a smart watch mimic a mechanical icon kills it. Good point cc Cheers Robin

A very good price/ performance ratio to boot. Sure - it will not possess the longevity of a mechanical watch but then again it is not in the same price bracket, either

First time was with the failure of the smart buckle they came up with for the Timewalker Urban Speed... Regardless, please help me here with the pricing: Tag Connected: 1,500 Montblanc: 890 Apple: 450 Samsung Gear: 250 Value of all the above when the next... 

lets say I was a tea enthusiast - with a crazy craving for drinking tea, morning, midday and night. Spending a good deal of my spare cash on exotic tea leaves. Tea is the best. Tea makes me feel good. I can't get tea out of my mind. One day someone offers... 

......if MB wants to be takes seriously as a high-end player, does that fit with producing a smart-watch? My own view is that this is confused marketing. It downgrades the "image" of their other watches.

The watches we discuss here are often from the upper end of the spectrum. However this is often not everything offered by a brand. The annual production of Villeret pieces is a tiny fraction of Montblanc\'s total and on their own they are completely insuf... 

MB has a wide family of products. Some of them may not be for collectors, except if they fall in love with a certain model. But other models can be worth some strong consideration: The Villeret collection. The movement alone is worth some strong interest.... 

I'm struggling with their positioning too

I am sure Lange and PP won't do this. Although it does make sense commercially for Richemont to use Montblanc to roll out smart watches (they already did with their smart augmented paper last year), I agree for the general lower priced Montblanc products ... 

However if you want something like you mentioned, Montblanc is first fully involved (i.e. deciding what goes and what not), and second of all the process has a starting price tag of €15.000. So unlikely that there will be all that many you\'ll see on the ... 

small amount to make a mockery of them as a customer if we choose to I think for good money , Montblanc will consider to be honest

But they naturally want the watch to be a success. And for that they chose one of their most iconic watchfaces as a base. They most likely considered the alternatives and some - like the TimeWalker Urban Speed are offered. But I think the frustration woul... 

And agree Montblanc can do it. But I will start with the lower cost models to showcase on the dial eg the basic time only 1858 or the heritage chronometrie or heritage spirit basic models all the way to mid complications like a moonphase. Having a watch d... 

And not included the Tachymeter or any dials with Villeret movement imho my friend Cheers Robin

So, if I for example ask MB to create a custom dial face from a watch of their current collection, and I pay them the € 15.000 - who stops them to sell the same dial face to another customer for the same € 15.000? I appreciate that custom faces cost money... 

There is that aspect in a smartwatch.

and good question Cheers Robin

I too feel quite disappointed and let down by this move. Agree with Robin that As a owner of the 1858 blue, this move dilutes my ownership experience of the watch. This is my own personal humble opinion. Sad to say that I Am now thinking of Selling the 18... 

It is a difficult path to thread...

Agree it's good to see it in the metal first. A Montblanc Villeret with enamel dial is to die for! Beer style's Villeret vintage pulsograph for eg is a killer ! Cheers Robin

And given that it is in the smaller case, too, means that it may well be my favourite from the whole line

....synthetic, cheap, greedy, consumeristic, a cheat, a lie and a very big disappointment.

Whatever you think, it is what it is and someone in Richemont group must do - Montblanc is the best brand to execute this, surely not for Lange or VC or even PP, I agree. For what it does, this is a bargain, IMHO. Ken ...  

Hard for us to turn back the time and hard for a consortium to make the decision to not at least have one option in the segment to learn.

.....a compass, a GPS and even a telephone. Apple and Garmin make smart watches. If the Richemont group, or Rolex for that matter, want to develop a smart watch, why not, but having the Montblanc brand on a smart watch mimicking an "iconic" limited editio... 

+1 !

Montblanc is the only brand that fits "Smart Watch" strategy. Hate the dial selection? No problem! It can be changed to many different faces, including the nearly most affordable line of Montblanc watches. PP, Rolex - they probably do not need to make sma... 

...but hey, it's like food, we may have different taste